Interfacial Coordination Nanosheet Based on Nonconjugated Three-Arm Terpyridine: A Highly Color-Efficient Electrochromic Material to Converge Fast Switching with Long Optical Memory

An electrochromic (EC) hyperbranched coordination nanosheet (CONASH) comprising a three-arm terpyridine (3tpy)-based ligand and Fe(II) ion has been synthesized by interfacial complexation at the liquid-liquid interface. The film can be easily deposited on the desired substrate such as indium tin oxide (ITO) glass. Characterization of CONASH deposited on ITO by microscopic methods reveals the homogeneous nanosheet film with an ∼350 nm thickness after 48 h of reaction. The fabricated solid-state EC device (ECD) undergoes a reversible redox reaction (Fe²⁺ → Fe³⁺) in the potential range of +3 to -2 V in ECDs accompanied with a distinct color change from intense pink to colorless for several switching cycles with a coloration time of 1.15 s and a bleaching time of 2.49 s along with a high coloration efficiency of 470.16 cm² C^-1. Besides, the nonconjugated 3tpy ligand restricts the easy electron redox conduction inside the EC film to enhance the EC memory in open-circuit condition as it shows 50% retention of its colorless state until 25 min. The long EC memory compared to other metallo-supramolecular polymers having a conjugated ligand suggests the potentiality of the 3tpy-Fe CONASH film to be used as a power-efficient EC material for modern display device applications.

Superior electron-transport ability of pi-conjugated redox molecular wires prepared by the stepwise coordination method on a surface

Electronic conductivity of molecular wires is a critical fundamental issue in molecular electronics. pi-Conjugated redox molecular wires with the superior long-range electron-transport ability could be constructed on a gold surface through the stepwise ligand-metal coordination method. The beta(d) value, indicating the degree of decrease in the electron-transfer rate constant with distance along the molecular wire between the electrode and the redox active species at the terminal of the wire, were 0.008-0.07 A(-1) and 0.002-0.004 A(-1) for molecular wires of bis(terpyridine)iron and bis(terpyridine)cobalt complex oligomers, respectively. The influences on beta(d) by the chemical structure of molecular wires and the terminal redox units, temperature, electric field, and electrolyte concentration were clarified. The results indicate that facile sequential electron hopping between neighboring metal-complex units within the wire is responsible for the high electron-transport ability.

Self-assembled monolayers of a bis(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine-substituted thiol on Au(111)

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of a bis(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine-substituted thiol (bpp-SH) on Au (111)/mica were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS). Using substrates precoated with perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (PTCDA), preparation at elevated temperatures yields highly ordered layers whose structure is described by a rectangular (5 x radical3) unit cell containing one molecule. The bis(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine (bpp) units exhibit pi-stacking along the 112 direction, and they are tilted significantly. We conclude the three imine nitrogen atoms in the bpp headgroup adopt a trans,trans arrangement.